At the highest point of the Buda Hills

Itinerary

• From the Erzsébet buffet, start on the Z▲ marker heading northwest! This winds together with the Sisakvirág Nature Trail all the way to the Csergezán Pál lookout, but we keep following further until it ends by merging into the Z marker!
• From here, follow the Z marker to the left, heading southwest!
• At the Anna hunting lodge, switch to the Z+ marker heading south!
• When this branches left, switch to the S+ marker heading southeast!
• The S+ marker eventually reconnects to the Z▲ marker. Here, turning right, we cover the last few hundred meters on familiar terrain.

Detailed description of the hike

Behind the fence of the hunting lodge, we can already discover the Z▲ tourist sign, which after a few steps leads us into the protected landscape area. The sign merges with the Sisakvirág Nature Trail; this reveals interesting facts about the wildlife visible on the route, illustrated with colorful pictures. After the first welcoming station, the path takes us across a meadow, then plunges into the trees. The wide forest path gradually becomes steeper, as if we were taking part in a well-planned training. If we occasionally glance down at the ground in front of our feet on the climb, we may notice a kind of transformation approaching: the forest’s soft, brown soil is gradually replaced by white stone debris. Upon reaching the large left-hand bend, it’s as if a stage set changes at the push of a button: the landscape's character suddenly completely transforms. The forest disappears; instead, white, lacey mounds alternate with green plant patches, tenaciously clinging to the soil's very thin fertile layer.

The mountain’s base here is dolomite. Looking around, we can observe its characteristic crumbling. The soil layer hardly stays on the rock; because of this, a distinctive flora develops. The southern exposure and lack of water host warmth-loving, drought-tolerant species. After the winter cold passes, the pasque flower and spring anemone color the landscape, followed later by the lazy toadflax, Pilis flax, Hungarian wild basil, and István carnations can be admired.

The Dark Past of the Black Mountains

The dolomite bedrock is not dissolved by water, but it crumbles very easily. Among these particles, rain easily washes out the topsoil. In such areas, woody plants cannot establish because roots have nothing to grasp. The stone debris is in constant motion down the slope. Furthermore, we are on the southern side, which is always rich in sunlight, so only drought-tolerant, light-loving specimens have a chance to survive. On the white surface, distinctive green plant patches can be spotted.

Let’s walk out to the summit of the bare Tarnai resting place, where standing, we can spot the rooftops of Budakeszi, Páty, and Telki among the trees! Continuing uphill, we see another change: spindly, non-native trees have been introduced to the former decoration.

Humans tried to interfere with nature’s order and, by planting black pine, tried to bind the soil – this is also where the name Black Mountains comes from. Unfortunately, the operation did not yield good results, as the ground vegetation drastically decreased. The plants living on dolomite could not adapt to the shade of the pine trees, except a few species such as Pilis flax or István carnation. Additionally, the slowly decomposing pine needles covered and acidified the soil, and pine seeds squeezed out flower seeds over a few decades. The battle raging between the two forces can be observed in the area. Nowadays, the removal of pines has begun, and native tree species are planted to restore the original image of the landscape.

The Big Bald is not Bald at All

Following the signposts, we ascend to Nagy-Kopasz. No one should be surprised; the name is very deceiving: instead of a bare peak, we reach a tree-covered summit, from the dense trees the lookout suddenly appears. From the top of the building named after Pál Csergezán, a panoramic view unfolds before us. No map is necessary to orient ourselves about which colorful spot hides which settlement, because the labels reveal everything.

Pál Csergezán was a painter and graphic artist, whose illustrations we surely have encountered if we read one of István Fekete’s classic books. He considered nature and the forest his true home. He had a marvelous sense for depicting motion: looking at his paintings, one could feel the tension of muscles as well as the warmth of sunlight filtering through the leaves and the scent of the forest floor. Life’s strange twist is that painters were outcasts among their kind and found their home among hunters.

Dr. Ilona Monori, chair of the board of the Pál Csergezán Public Foundation, writes about him: “Today Pál Csergezán is legendary, known for hand-feeding his favorite animals, the wild boars, although his life depended on their single movement. Perhaps he really confronted hunting philosophy when these wild boars became prey and never returned. He always empathized with the animal and was not driven into the forest by hunting passion, but by living among them, breathing the clean air in the same space; he was driven by an identification urge to get as close as possible to his favorites.”

Long, but Easy Descent

Leaving the lookout and the sunny southern hillside, we get to know the northern part’s wildlife while descending towards Nagykovácsi on the forestry road. Walking through a beech forest that is hardly proud of its understory, the area’s dominant raven pair’s distinctive krrrá, krrrá calls accompany our walk.

Approaching the edge of Nagykovácsi, we must be alert not to miss the narrow path on the left that guides us on the Z marker to Anna-lak. Here, after a hearty picnic and visiting the Csergezán memorial, continue slightly to the left and follow the green cross tourist marker, which leads down to the foot of the hill. At the fork, choose the path where the Mária route and the S marker go together. This part is a comfortable descent of the tour with minimal elevation difference. If we still have strength for a short detour and want to see another wonder of the landscape, after about 500 meters take a left at the crossroads and peek into the mine! We won’t regret it…

The end of our route merges into the initial Z▲ section, from which a ten-minute walk leads to the Erzsébet buffet parking and bus stop.